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Milwaukee Woman Says Fitbit Exploded and Burned Her Arm

Fitbit devices are supposed to help keep people healthy and active. But that wasn't the case for one woman, who claimed her Fitbit caught fire while it was still on her arm. Now, the San Francisco-based company is in damage control mode. Scott Budman reports. (Published Monday, April 24, 2017)

Fitbit devices are supposed to help keep people healthy and active. But that wasn't the case for one woman, who claimed her Fitbit caught fire while it was still on her arm. Now, the San Francisco-based company is in damage control mode.

Dina Mitchell, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said she suffered a second-degree burn after wearing her Fitbit Flex 2 device for only two weeks.

"The Fitbit itself is totally melted; the bracelet melted," she said. "And I got pieces of plastic burned into my arm."

Mitchell said her doctor had to pick those pieces out of her wound. She said the fitness tracker exploded Tuesday night while she was reading a book. There was no indication anything was wrong with the device prior to the explosion, Mitchell said, and Aurora Health Care confirms Mitchell visited urgent care the next day.

"If they are exploding, or if there's some type of malfunction with them, I mean, I'm going to have a scare from this probably," Mitchell said. "Can you imagine what it would do to a child?"

Fitbit released a statement, saying:

"We are extremely alarmed about Ms. Mitchell's complaint regarding her Flex2, and we are investigating the issue. We are not aware of any other complaints of this nature. In fact, based on our extensive internal and independent safety testing, we do not believe it is possible for this to occur under normal use. The quality of our products and the health and safety of our customers are our top priorities. Fitbit products are designed and produced in accordance with strict standards to ensure the safety of our users."